Lightweight box to the East Coast
Often USPS Priority Mail beats UPS Ground by 30–40% — and arrives faster (3 days vs 5).
Add-On · Smart Routing
UPS, FedEx, or USPS?
We'll Pick.
We compare live rates and transit times across UPS, FedEx, and USPS for every shipment and recommend the best fit by price, speed, and reliability for the route. AI-assisted: factors in dim weight, residential surcharges, zone pricing, and Saturday delivery.
At a glance
- What it is
- Live UPS / FedEx / USPS rate and speed comparison
- Best for
- One-off shipments and ongoing seller routing
- Factors in
- Dim weight, residential surcharges, zones, fuel
- Typical savings
- 18% average on shipments over $20
- Price
- Free with any pickup; $50 standalone consult
- AI-assisted
- Yes — best-fit recommendation per shipment
How carrier comparison works
1. Tell Us About the Shipment
Dimensions, weight, destination ZIP, urgency, declared value.
2. Live Rate Pull
We pull live rates from UPS, FedEx, and USPS, factoring in dim weight, residential, and surcharges.
3. AI Recommendation
Best-fit suggestion: cheapest, fastest, or most reliable for the route — your call.
4. Ship It
We label and drop at the chosen carrier hub. Tracking back same-day.
Why the 'best' carrier changes shipment to shipment
Three things make rate comparison harder than it looks. First, dimensional weight: carriers bill on whichever is greater, actual weight or dimensional weight (L × W × H / 139 for domestic), which means a big light box costs the same as a small heavy one — and sometimes USPS Priority is dramatically cheaper than UPS Ground for a lightweight 12×12×12 box. Second, residential surcharges and fuel: UPS and FedEx both add residential delivery fees (~$5) and weekly fuel surcharges that move every Monday, so a quote from last month isn't accurate today. Third, zones: shipping to Brooklyn from Costa Mesa is zone 8 (the most expensive); shipping to Sacramento is zone 4. The same package, same weight, can cost wildly different prices via the same carrier on different routes. Our routing tool pulls live rates from all three carriers, applies dim-weight, residential, fuel, and Saturday-delivery logic, and recommends the best fit by your priority: cheapest, fastest, or most reliable. On shipments over $20 in postage, we save customers an average of 18% — usually by shifting a heavy box from UPS Ground to USPS Priority, or a lightweight box from USPS Priority to UPS Ground depending on zone.
What we handle most
Heavy box across town
UPS Ground or FedEx Ground are usually cheaper than USPS for anything over 5 lbs locally.
Time-sensitive overnight
We compare UPS Next Day Air vs FedEx Priority Overnight vs USPS Priority Mail Express — they trade by route.
Recurring seller routes
One-time analysis of your top 10 destinations to lock in the right carrier per route — saves money every shipment after.
Saturday delivery
USPS delivers Saturday by default; UPS and FedEx charge extra. We surface the right option.
Insured high-value
FedEx tends to win on declared-value pricing over $500; UPS on under.
Schedule a return pickup
Upload a photo. Get a price.
Snap or upload a quick photo, tell us the basics, and get an AI estimate in seconds. Continue to the full quote form to lock in pickup time and contact details.
Photos (optional but recommended)
Drop photos here
or click — up to 6 images
Photos help us quote accurately. Your final quote form lets you add up to 10.
What do you need shipped or picked up? *
Pickup ZIP or address
Urgency
Carrier
AI Instant Estimate
Ballpark in seconds. Final quote within 30 minutes after you submit the full form.
Pricing
From $0
per shipment
Free when added to any pickup or packing service. As a standalone consult (high-volume sellers), $50 per session.
What's included
- Live rate pull from UPS, FedEx, USPS
- Dim-weight, residential, fuel-surcharge calculation
- Best-fit AI recommendation per shipment
- Transit-time and Saturday-delivery comparison
- Free when added to any pickup or packing service
Not included
- Carrier negotiated-rate accounts (we use published rates by default; can use yours)
- International rate comparison (DHL, UPS Worldwide, FedEx International — available on request)
Frequently asked
How much does this actually save?
On shipments over $20 in postage, we save an average of 18%. Smaller shipments under $15 typically settle at the same carrier no matter what — not much room to save. The savings come from heavy or lightweight boxes where dim weight or zone pricing creates wide gaps between carriers.
What's dimensional weight?
Carriers bill on whichever is greater, actual weight or dimensional weight (length × width × height ÷ 139 for domestic UPS/FedEx). A 16×16×16 box of pillows that weighs 2 lbs is billed as 29 lbs by UPS/FedEx — but USPS Priority bills by actual weight up to a size limit, so it's often cheaper for those boxes.
Can you use my negotiated UPS or FedEx account rates?
Yes — if you have a negotiated account, we can pull rates against your account credentials and route accordingly. Most ecommerce sellers we work with do this.
How is this AI-assisted?
We use a routing model that factors in carrier rates, transit times, on-time-performance data per zone, and your priority (price vs speed vs reliability) to recommend the best fit. The model has been trained on outcomes from thousands of OC shipments.
Do you compare international carriers?
Yes — DHL Express, UPS Worldwide, FedEx International, USPS First-Class International. International rates have even bigger gaps than domestic; comparison usually saves 25–40%.
Is Saturday delivery extra?
USPS delivers Saturday by default at no extra charge. UPS and FedEx charge a Saturday-delivery surcharge (~$16). We surface the right option based on your urgency.
Carrier Comparison
Ready to book carrier comparison?
Upload photos, get a flat quote, and we'll come to your door anywhere in Orange County.